


a dusting of pink (makes you glow from within)

by windscryer



Series: paint a canvas on my skin (and sign it with your love) [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, M/M, Miscommunication, Multi, Polyamory, Relationship Negotiation, accidental attempted adultery, adding a third, author should not be allowed to title their own works, bless his little cotton socks, established pepper potts/tony stark, musicalluna is SUCH an enabler, pepperony sexytimes, starkspangledspice, steve is a terrible adulterer, steve is not going to miss this time, steve spends too much time on tumblr, this is a good thing, this is why lucy titles things, tony really needs to pay more attention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 09:25:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6900361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windscryer/pseuds/windscryer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is pretty sure he’s got a hang of this future thing. Talking to women though? That he still needs to work on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a dusting of pink (makes you glow from within)

**Author's Note:**

> lucy is a terrible enabler. as per yoojh. *fond eyeroll*

Pepper was hoping to find some leftovers from last night when she walked through the common area toward the kitchen. Work had been long and hellish today and neither cooking nor waiting for delivery appealed to her.

She paused when she saw Steve sprawled on the couch, sketching. She smiled fondly and wondered if he was deep in his thoughts or if he'd mind a little company. He didn't usually in her experience, but every now and again the past was a little too close and he preferred his solitude.

She detoured to steal a peek at what was on his paper. That was usually a pretty good way to get a read on his mood.

Before she got close enough, though, he turned, the sketchbook ending up facedown on his lap.

"Oh! Hi, Pepper." He folded the cover over without flipping the tablet and set it and his pencil aside. "How was, uh, work?"

"Work was…" She pursed her lips, then shook her head. "It was fine." Determined to think about happier things, she said, "How was your day?"

"Oh it was… good. I mean, I didn't really get much done, but the month's been kind of busy so it was nice to have some time to just breathe." He pushed to his feet and indicated the kitchen. "Were you going to…?"

"I was," she said, then added wryly. "If there's anything left anyway."

"Ah, there should be?" he said, looking a little worried. "I don't think… I mean, Thor isn't here and Clint hasn't finished his reports so I think he's still in Coulson's office. There's probably something."

She laughed and patted his shoulder. "I'm sure there's something. I won't starve."

He followed her in, hands stuffed in his pockets. His eyes skittered over the counter and the appliances. "So," he started as she opened the door.

He inhaled a deep breath, then let it out. "I was wondering what you're doing on Saturday evening."

She found the boxes of leftover Chinese and poked through them until she located the shrimp lo mein. "This Saturday?" she asked. She stirred the noodles and then stuck it in the microwave. She sucked on her chopsticks as she mentally checked her calendar. "I don't have any hard plans yet. Why?"

She turned around and leaned against the counter. Then she tilted her head. Steve seemed to have hit a little bit of a lag, his eyes blinking, but no words coming out of his slightly hanging jaw.

She frowned. "Steve?"

He shook himself and said, "Yes! I… Sorry. I got…" He looked away and ran a hand through his hair, leaving a spike of it sticking up oddly. Her eyes flicked to it and she thought about mentioning it, but it was adorable and they were in the Tower, not out in public, so she let it go. "Sorry. Um. What were we talking about?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Saturday night," she said. "Are you feeling okay? You're a little flushed."

He inhaled deeply again and then breathed out, finding his composure in the movement. "I'm fine," he said. "I promise. So, you said you are free on Saturday?"

"As of right now, yes. What's going on?" The microwave beeped and she turned. A bit of steam escaped as she pulled it out and she hissed and yanked her hand back. "Ow! Dammit." She licked the spot, then went back a second time, more careful of the container now. A stir of her fork and she turned, only to find Steve had circled the island and was now standing within arm's length.

"Are you okay?" he asked, picking up her hand and inspecting it.

"It's fine. Not even a real burn. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

He gave her a piercing look, and she continued smiling until he relented. She could appreciate being fussed over now and again by the team, their concern and care for her no minor stroking of her self esteem, but she didn't want them to think it was always necessary.

She and Tony had engaged in mutual ass-saving in Miami after all.

"Now what's going on Saturday?" she asked, pulling her hand back so she could eat.

She twirled her chopsticks onto the noodles and lifted a mouthful just as he said, "Well, I was hoping we could get something to eat."

She chewed and swallowed the bite, then said, "Is anyone going to be in town? I thought Natasha and Clint were heading back out tomorrow, and Thor and Jane are supposed to be in Asgard all weekend. Darcy has a meet up with some college friends, Sam's going to visit family in DC until Sunday night, and Bruce…" She thought for a moment. "Bruce might be free. Have you asked him yet?"

Steve scratched at the back of his neck, looking inexplicably sheepish. He and Bruce got along just fine, she thought. Had something happened?

"Ah, well, I wasn't exactly thinking of a, uh, _team_ sort of thing. That's why I wanted to do it this weekend. Because if everyone's around then they will want to come and, well, that's… not the kind of dinner out I had in mind." He peeked at her from under his bowed head, cheeks pinking again.

Her chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth, and then the noodles slid slowly off the end to land back in the box with a wet plop.

She closed her mouth and stuck her chopsticks back in, stirring and securing another bite, which she very carefully put in her mouth and chewed.

Steve shifted from foot to foot, his hands back in his pockets, though she could see them clenching and unclenching.

When she'd gathered her thoughts enough that she felt confident speaking again, she pushed away from the counter to stand straight and set aside her food. She wiped her hands on a napkin and then smoothed them over her jacket and skirt, breathing in and out.

She looked Steve in the eye, and held it even though he quickly looked away. Every time he glanced back, though, she caught his gaze again, making sure he knew he had her full attention.

"Steve. I just want to be sure I'm understanding you correctly: You are asking me to accompany you on a date. A romantic date, correct?"

He gave a shaky sort of chuckle and said, "Well, I don't know how romantic it will be. I wasn't very good at that stuff before I lost seventy years and everything changed."

"But that is your intent, correct? This isn't an invitation to a platonic night out between friends?"

His head snapped up and there was an intent in his eyes that sent a shiver coursing down her spine despite herself. Saying no to the promise in those eyes wouldn't be easy by any means.

"I feel like we have a pretty good handle on the friendship. I waited too long once before. My _intent_ is to not let another opportunity slip away again like that."

She might have shivered again, but instead her steadfast determination melted a little bit under the heat in his low-voiced vow.

And here she'd thought only Tony could have that effect on— Oh god. _Tony._ What was she thinking?! She already had a boyfriend, a very loving, devoted one, whom she might want to strangle every other day or so, but who had been nothing but faithful to her since they'd officially gotten together—and maybe a little bit before that if she was really honest with herself.

And for her to waver even a little bit over _Captain America_ of all people.

She resisted the urge to fan herself as the blush creeped up into her cheeks, but she couldn't stop her gaze from dropping to the counter behind and to the left of him.

She cleared her throat and called on every ounce of will and determination she'd ever had to exert as first PA and then CEO for Tony— _God, Tony._ She was going to have to apologize to him once she worked up the courage to explain this whole mess.—and said, "While I am very, _very_ flattered, Captain, I am going to have to decline. I would never cheat on Tony and I can't… I…" She lost her head of steam there.

How did one call Captain America out on a proposition for adultery? How was this even her life now?

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped again. "What? I— No! I'm not— I wouldn't— I wouldn't want you to! I'd _never_ ask you to—" His expression crumpled before he hid it behind a hand, slumping down against the island. "Oh God, no wonder Bucky always said I was hopeless," he muttered, his normally almost unnoticeable accent thickening. It was one of his tells for being truly embarrassed, which was actually reassuring in this case.

"I thought it was the bein' sick and having ta look up to all the girls, but apparently…" He sighed and scrubbed the hand up and down his face.

Pepper's confusion and indignation softened and she reached out to lay a hand on his arm, crossed over his chest like a barrier against his own stupidity.

"Steve, it's… Like I said, I _am_ very flattered. And for what it's worth, you did just fine asking, so when you find someone else who's… _available_ ," she said delicately, "I'm sure she'll be very happy to say yes." He looked up and she smiled encouragingly. "You've got a lot to offer someone. Just… not me."

"I'm sorry, Miss Potts," he said, the very picture of embarrassment. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot, and I would _never_ presume, I just… I asked Tony because I didn't want to overstep myself and he seemed fine with it and said to arrange it with you and—" He laughed self-deprecatingly and ran his hand through his hair again, leaving more spikes. "I forgot this isn't 1938, I suppose. It's not always the fella who, uh, wears the pants, as they say."

Pepper drew up sharp at his words though, her fingers digging into his arm. "He said _what_?"

Steve's eyes took on a cautious shade as his smile faded. "Tony?" At her "who else?!" glare, he straightened up and reported, as though called before a superior officer to explain why a mission went off the rails. "He said it was fine with him, ma'am, but that I should arrange it with you since he was busy and wasn't your social secretary." His eyes flicked down to hers again, then he repeated, "Ma'am."

She blew out an annoyed breath and pried her fingers from his arm. "Don't ma'am me, it's not _you_ I'm annoyed with. Unless you keep that up," she warned.

He nodded agreeably.

She paced away, glancing at her cooling shrimp lo mein, then away. Eating was not as appealing as it had been half an hour ago.

Three circuits of the kitchen and the beginnings of a headache that she tried to massage away from her temples and she gave up. She stopped at the counter to toss her chopsticks into the sink and fold the flaps back over the box, then stuffed it in the fridge.

"Come on," she said, grabbing Steve's arm and tugging him toward the elevators. "You and I are going to talk to Tony right now." She couldn't help muttering, "And he better have a _damn_ good explanation for this."

The ride down was quiet, mostly filled with the nervous rustle of clothes as Steve shifted. For her part, Pepper was focusing on _not_ moving to distract her from the urge to say something that she might regret.

_Might_. That bar was a few feet lower when it came to her boyfriend and their mutual friend/neighbor arranging a date with her like she was some kind of… _leftover shrimp lo mein_ in the fridge to be shared among housemates. She huffed and refocused her gaze on the numbers counting down.

He took in a breath, held it, then let it out again. This repeated a few times before it ground down her last nerve and she snapped, "Just say it."

He flinched and she took a small amount of petty pleasure in that.

"I get the impression I've offended you, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble for you or Tony or _between_ you and Tony."

His sincerity was what pierced the bubble of her fury and she exhaled, shoulders sliding down.

"I'm not—" She bit off the lie. "I'm not going to say I don't feel like I'm being punked right now."

His brow furrowed in the reflection on the door. "I… don't know what that means."

She snorted out what sounded like exasperation, but was at least 60% amusement. "That's probably for the better," she said, patting his arm. "We have made a lot of advancements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, but I'm not sure I'd count reality TV as one of them."

His expression cleared, so he probably at least knew what reality TV was.

"It means to have a joke played on you, though usually  with cameras recording your reaction."

"Ah," he said.

"Anyway," she waved it away, "the point is, I meant what I said before: I am, at the very least, flattered."

"Well that's…" He smiled wanly. "…Not promising, but it's not too much of a blow to my ego, I guess. I appreciate being let down gently."

She patted his arm again, then turned as the doors slid apart on the workshop level. "Come on and we'll get this all straightened out. You don't have to stay for the fireworks, by the way," she said as she punched in her code and waited for JARVIS to open the doors. "Music mute," she directed as she strode in.

Her heels clicked sharply on the floor as she crossed it and she could see the exact moment that Tony registered not only his music ending but the reason why. His shoulders crawled up to bracket his ears and she could hear him hissing curses before he put on his casual face and spun around on the stool.

"Pepper! Darling! Honeydew! How lovely to see you! I want you to know, first of all, that the specs for the new StarkPad are in your mailbox and, _yes_ , I did make sure the notations are in legible English this time. JARVIS can second that."

"Indeed, Ms. Potts, they are even spelled correctly."

"Aaaand, the budget for the department is… in progress. Like, at least 56% done. I'm waiting on one team to get back to me, but it's Patterson's and you know how she is with deadlines and—" He stopped cold when she did, arms crossing over her chest and eyebrow rising.

She watched his eyes flick to Steve, narrow in confusion, then back to her for a second, more thorough perusal of her body language and facial expression.

He chewed his lip for a moment, then threw his hands up. "I give up. I'm sorry. I don't know what I did this time or why poor Steve has been dragged into it. Did Agent call you? Did we offend a Senator or something? I'll make… Clint? Thor?" He waved his hands in confusion, then let them drop to rest on his thighs. "Me?" he said with a sigh. He dug his fingers into the corners of his eyes, then said, "Whoever it was, we'll make them apologize and pay whatever needs to be paid or… whatever."

He looked rather like a puppy who was being scolded for chewing up a slipper but had no earthly idea what he'd done to deserve it. Which meant that he probably hadn't even been paying attention when Steve had asked. That helped soothe her ruffled feathers a little, though he wasn't completely off the hook.

She let him stew for a moment more, then said, "Tony, Steve had a very interesting question for me just now."

"Oh yeah?" Tony said warily, gaze skipping briefly to Steve again.

"He asked me if I'd like to go to dinner." Tony's brow furrowed and his mouth twitched. She leaned forward a little and said. "A very particular type of dinner." The furrow deepened. "A date, Tony. Steve asked me on a date."

She turned and regarded Steve, who was the same scolded puppy as Tony had been. "Did you want a kiss on this date?"

Steve's eyes flew wide and then slowly rose from where they'd been pinning the floor down. They shifted between Tony and Pepper in rapid-fire, before settling on her. "I… Um… Yes? I mean, if… if that's… appropriate? And if you wanted?" He glanced at Tony again, then back at her and swallowed, pulling back as much as he could without actually retreating physically. "I'm… pretty open to seeing how things go, though, so…"

A screech and a clang from the stool being pushed back roughly echoed through the shop and Tony crossed the floor to stand by her side.

"Hang on, are you trying to mack on my girl, Steve?" he demanded, as incredulous as he was offended.

Well, now he knew how she felt.

Steve looked between them again. He squared his shoulders like he was about to face a firing squad and nodded. His answer was still a hesitant, "Yes?" though.

His steel spine melted under whatever look Tony was giving him and Pepper saw it was a squint of confusion. She laced her fingers through his and he broke off staring at Steve to squint at her.

"Okay, I'm missing something here."

Pepper squeezed his hand and let him process for a moment, confident that he'd figure it out now that he had more information.

His eyes widened suddenly and he whirled back to face Steve. "Is this about earlier? When you were in here…" He froze, lips moving slightly as his eyes darted back and forth.

"Oh," he said softly. Then he squeezed her hand back and said, "Okay, in my defense? I had no idea he was asking me if he could ask you on a date. And two," he continued, wheeling back to face Steve and waving a hand in the air, "you are, like, the worst adulterer ever. I mean, I know the comic books said you were the embodiment of, like, truth, justice, and the American way, and all that, but… Seriously.

“My dad told me a thousand times how you were also like this master tactician and yet the best plan you, the actual Man With the Plan himself, could come up with to try and get Pepper to cheat on me with you was to _ask me if you could go on a date with her?_ That's… that's not… That's _embarrassing_ , Steve. I am embarrassed for you."

Steve's shoulders remained hunched, his head bowed, and his hands in his pockets. With cheeks aflame he huffed and said, "Well, the point of asking both of you was to make it so it _wasn't_ adultery."

Tony was squinting again, the same look he gave the board when they told him that they wanted him to spend less than the budget he'd asked for on a project, like he couldn't understand if they had just ignored him or if they really thought he was padding the numbers for God only knows what reason. As if he didn't regularly put up his own money when things went over cost in the development phase knowing that the profits in the end would bear him out—and that the profits _always_ bore him out.

Pepper, though, was only half paying attention to Tony, the implications of what Steve was saying finally getting through her own embarrassment and flustered, flattered interpretation.

"Well that's…" she started to say, but her tone shifted without her intent when she finished, " _interesting_."

Tony's head jerked and he turned on her again. "Are you seriously considering this?" he demanded. The hurt tone underlying his words snapped her out of her thoughts and she leveled him with a look.

"Honestly, if he'd come to you and said he wanted to take you on a date and that I'd said it was okay, wouldn't you?"

"But he didn't come to me!" Tony said. Then corrected, "Or, well, he did, but not _about_ me."

Steve cleared his throat and drew both their attention. "Well, actually…"

Tony's jaw dropped again and Pepper sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh. _Oh."_

Steve frowned. "Was that not clear? That I wanted to take both of you out?"

"On a date?" Tony asked.

Steve's lips pursed, the tiniest bit of annoyance beginning to show through. "Yeah, on a date. A romantic one," he added, glancing at Pepper.

Her cheeks heated up and she had to swallow suddenly.

"Preferably at the same time," Steve continued, "since that seems more fair all around."

Tony made a strangled sound and Pepper saw his eyes were blown wide, his jaw hanging loose.

"Oh my god," he whispered. He turned to her, his face twitching and his hands flailing a bit at his sides.

She nodded, then turned back to Steve. "While, I will admit, that is not what I expected, that does make a lot more sense."

"No no no, wait," Tony said, hand slicing sharply through the air. "Just wait. We've already had more than enough confusion here tonight, so can you repeat _exactly_ what it is you're asking here, Steve?"

Steve's jaw took on that mulish sort of set to it, but he very graciously and calmly said, "I would like to take you, Tony and Pepper, out on a romantic date on Saturday night, if you're available. If you are agreeable, but not available, I'd like to set another time for this date. I would prefer to take both of you together since I am interested in both of you," he bent a look on them, "together _,_ but if that cannot be arranged, or if you're not interested in this, that's just fine too. I'm sorry for the confusion and to have bothered you."

Tony squeaked again. "And you thought I was wild," he breathed, still staring at Steve like he'd sprouted wings and began spewing fire.

Pepper rolled her eyes. As if Tony _wasn't_ wild. He might not have engaged in a polyamorous relationship before, but she'd seen the aftermath—and some of the _during_ math, for that matter—of some of his orgies and he had no room to speak.

"So you do want to date both of us together," she said, because, well, it wasn't everyday a girl was propositioned by Captain America for not just a one-night stand threesome but an extended relationship of the same.

Steve was wary at the repetition. "Yeah," he said, "I mean, that's how polyamory works, right?"

Tony was still stuck on "small helpless noises" mode, and Pepper needed a moment to catch her breath at hearing it out loud like that.

Wariness shifted into worry, so she forced her tongue to unglue from the top of her mouth and said, "That's very… flattering." She kicked herself internally because she had had a more extensive vocabulary once upon a time. "But can you give Tony and I some time to think about and discuss your proposal?"

Steve blew out a breath and nodded, fists flexing in the pockets of his pants. "Yeah, okay. I can… I can definitely do that." He smiled, however weakly. "Well, then, if you don't have any more questions right now, I'm just going to…" He pointed over his shoulder.

Pepper nodded and he fled with as much dignity as he could.

The doors shut behind him, leaving her and Tony and the soft sounds of the bots and equipment humming around them.

Tony staggered backwards until he hit the stool with a clang, then dropped onto it. He tugged until Pepper was sitting on his lap, and wrapped his arms around her. His head dropped to rest on her shoulder as the breath leaked out of him.

"Tell me that actually happened," he mumbled after a few minutes.

She laughed, but the strain was audible in it. She reached up and patted his head, wrapping her other arm around him. "It happened," she confirmed. "I'm not sure… why or how but… it happened."

She pressed a hand to her mouth and just let her thoughts tumble around for a moment, processing and, yes, savoring it all.

Tony laughed now too, lifting his head and pressing a kiss to her shoulder, then hooking his chin over it. "So… we should probably think about this like responsible adults, right? Because while I am having very adult thoughts right now, I can say with fair certainty that they are not at all responsible."

She let her head drop to rest on his. "We should and now I'm not either." She smacked his shoulder. He pretended it hurt, but she knew better.

"We should…" She lifted her head and looked around. "Are you done for the night?"

He snorted. "Whether I want to be or not, anything I did now would be suspect at best and illegal or stupid at worst."

"Okay then. Okay. We'll just…" She stood, but he didn't let her get any further than that before he pulled her in against his body. She could feel tension thrumming through him, though the way his hands were kneading her skin, like he wasn't sure if he should be holding on for dear life or letting her go, said more.

She turned in his arms and cupped his face, waiting until he met her gaze.

She kissed him firmly. "We're going to go upstairs and get something to eat and then we're going to talk about this. But no matter what we decide, _we_ ," she said, waggling a finger between them, "are still what we were before this. We might add something to it, but I have no intention of taking anything away. Is that understood, Mister Stark?"

His hands flexed once more, pressing into her skin as if to leave a mark that couldn't be erased, then he smiled softly, the tension easing from his muscles. "That is understood, Ms. Potts."

She nodded and turned, keeping his hand in hers as she pulled him along. She could practically feel the potential of what Steve was suggesting permeating the air around them, and there was a not inconsiderate part of her that would very much like to explore that potential. But she meant what she said to Tony: She wasn't giving anything up for it, no matter how sweet the siren call might be.

* * *

They did make it upstairs and she got the rest of her shrimp lo mein while he polished off the cashew chicken and potstickers, but the food was reheated and consumed in silence.

He was leaning back against the counter where she had stood when Steve made his first blushing inquiry, tapping his chopsticks against his lips when she returned from changing her suit out for shorts and one of his band t-shirts. She hadn't planned on it, but when she saw it hanging from the corner of the hamper she'd pulled it out on impulse. It smelled like him, like his workshop and what she secretly thought of as his genius, and she had held it and bit her lip, wondering how he would take it, and then shrugged it on.

Pretty well, she thought, as he held out an arm and pulled her into his chest. She pushed up for a kiss and then laid her head on his shoulder. He rubbed his hand up and down her back as the microwave hummed behind him.

When the food was done he pulled it out, handing her box off to her and taking his own. He looked at the table and the couch and then at her. She shrugged and he nodded and they turned toward the elevator together, riding up one level to their private floor.

"JARVIS, put… something on," Tony said as they settled on the couch. He slumped back into the cushions and she leaned into his side and they watched the first half of Episode IV, trading bites of food and staring at the screen but not really paying attention.

"Have you…" he started, then stopped. He chewed on the end of his chopstick, eyes following the Millennium Falcon as it dodged through the asteroid field.

"Have I…?" she prompted.

He shook his head and she frowned.

"Tony, I don't know… anything, really, about polyamorous relationships," a fact she would need to correct, she thought, making a mental note, "but I can only imagine that it's at least twice as complicated to have two people in your life like that than just one. If we can't talk to each other, then—"

"I can talk to you," he said, sitting up and turning to face her. "Can't I? I know I have been absolutely _awful_ at it in the past, but I've gotten better, right?"

She kissed him again and squeezed his wrist. "You have. So you should know now that you don't have anything to worry about."

He considered that, then sighed. A hand rubbed over his face and then he spat out a rush of words. "HaveyoueverthoughtaboutStevethatwaybefore?"

She blinked, and only parsed his words by virtue of long practice and experience. "Have I ever thought about Steve that way before? Like, you mean romantically?"

He nodded, staring down his mostly empty carton and poking at a cashew in the corner.

"I…" She considered, then shook her head. "No. No, I can't say I have." She blinked. "Have you?"

He laughed, but it was a weak, embarrassed little thing. He didn't speak until after he'd pinned the cashew down and delivered it to his mouth. "That's… complicated."

She tilted her head. "So simplify it. Or break it down at least."

He inhaled and exhaled, then leaned forward to set aside the remains of his dinner. "You know my history with my dad and Cap. How he was obsessed with finding him and I was obsessed with getting him to actually notice me."

She nodded and carded a hand through his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp.

He raised his hands in a shrug. "Okay, take that mess of dysfunctional family dynamics and then add puberty. I'd be lying if Cap—and to be clear, I do mean Captain America the national hero and legend, not the Steve Rogers you and I know today. One of Dad's favorite phrases was 'Steve wouldn't' or 'Steve would', but he didn't really expound on who Steve was beyond the exact opposite of everything I managed to be. Aunt Peggy was kinder, and she told me stories sometimes, but even those were mostly slightly more detailed versions of the serialized stories released to the public after the war."

Pepper tangled her fingers with his and rubbed her cheek on his knuckles, smiling her sympathy.

He returned it, then continued. "So, no, I didn't know who Steve was to feel anything for him. But Captain America, well, everyone knew him. And since he was apparently the personification of human perfection, who wouldn't have a little tiny crush on him?" He waved a hand. "Obviously that didn't survive my first meeting with the man under the uniform, but, once you get past that and are no longer under the influence of any alien beings or universal constants, well, he's not so bad."

She hummed and let that sink in for a moment. "And since then?"

"Since… what? Since meeting him? I— No, of course not! Pepper, I have been one hundred percent committed to you."

She smiled and cupped his cheek. "I know that. Well, me and your work," she teased. "The suits. Your little side fling with SHIELD for as long as it lasted."

"My commitment to my work is what keeps us in this big fancy Tower," he pointed out.

"No, _my_ commitment to your company is what does that. Although your work doesn't hurt," she said with a wink when he pouted in mock offense.

"No respect. None."

She laughed and pecked his cheek. He turned and stole a second kiss, then deepened it after a moment with a groan. His fingers slid into her hair and cradled her head and his teeth scraped over her lip before his tongue followed after.

She let a hand drop to his thigh and tiptoed her fingers up his leg until he gasped, then pressed her advantage and took control of the kiss.

They broke for air and she moved to straddle his lap, looking down on his upturned face, grinning at the way she could see his focus and love were all centered on her right now. His hands settled on her hips and she bent, nibbling and sucking on his lip and rolling her hips when he bucked up under her.

His hands slid up her sides under her shirt and she pulled back. The whine in his throat at that made her laugh darkly.

"You didn't stop looking at people when you started dating me. _I_ didn't stop looking at people when I started dating you. That's how people are, Tony. The important thing is that at the end of the day, we came home to each other. So if I checked out Steve's ass—and it is a _very_ nice ass," she added, rolling her hips again in a slow undulation.

He gasped and squeezed her waist and said, "Oh good, not just me. That's… that's really good to know."

She laughed and kissed him. "If we can both check out Steve's ass then you can certainly have thought about him beyond friendship."

"I haven't," he said. She arched an eyebrow and swiveled her hips, grinding down onto his rising erection. It was better than truth serum for him, a fact she didn't abuse, but certainly didn't ignore. "Oh god, I'm serious, I promise, Pepper. I really haven't. I mean, except for the last, like, two hours? But before that, no."

"And in the last two hours?" she asked, leaning down until they were barely apart, sharing breath and heat, but not touching. He inhaled deeply and she rode the motion up and down, then flicked her tongue across her lips. He jerked to chase the movement and she chuckled and maintained her distance.

"The idea has really grown on me," he confessed. His gaze slid to the side just an inch, still on her face, but not meeting hers.

"Good," she said, and rewarded his honesty with a deep kiss, stealing his breath and tasting him, letting her weight fall on him until her breasts were pressed up against his chest, the arc reactor a familiar ridge imprinting on her skin. "Because it's really growing on me too."

He groaned and she had half a second to realize that he'd tightened his grip on her before he surged upward and twisted, laying her down on the couch underneath him. His warm palm slid up her spine, the other tracing her ribs before finding her breast, smoothing over the skin until he reached her nipple and giving it a tweak.

" _Fuck_ , Tony!"

She threw her head back and he kissed down her throat from her jaw to the collar of her shirt, still working her breast in his hand and making her groan and buck under him. She skimmed her hands up his sides until she reached his shoulders, then pushed him back enough to pull his shirt off over his head. As soon as it was clear he pushed her shirt up to expose her breasts and put his mouth where his hand had been, licking and sucking, nipping the skin on the swell and making her jerk and gasp.

"Tony, oh god, come here. Come here." She pulled him up with a hand on the back of his head, and he blanketed her with his weight. She sank into the couch cushions with a groan.

They kissed, trading control back and forth as the moment led them, the familiar and expected settling into her like hot coffee on a cold winter's morning.

He rocked against her and she met him with every thrust but the urgency was gone. She clung to him and his fingers pressed into her skin, but it wasn't desperation, dangling from a cliff and hoping you didn't lose your grip. He was here, with her, and neither of them was going anywhere. They had all the time in the world to just be with each other.

When he sat back and peeled his shirt off of her, then lifted her hips and slid her shorts and panties down her legs, her smile was warm, lit by the same banked glow that ebbed and flowed in her veins. He stepped off the couch long enough to catch his thumbs on the waistband of his jeans and pushed, dropping them to the floor with a soft thump as he toed off his shoes. She looked her fill, taking her time to admire his gorgeous form.

As she did every now and again, she marveled just a little bit that he'd ever even given a second look to the junior accountant who spent far too much time double-checking her numbers to have a proper social life. Not that becoming his personal assistant had done much for that, but, well, it had led her here, so how much had she really missed out on?

When she was satisfied with drinking him in and his eyes had glazed over more than a little bit with his own perusal of her body, she stretched out her arms and wiggled her fingers. His lips curved in a slow grin and he came back down, fitting himself between her thighs and dotting her skin with kisses.

"Have I told you lately how drop dead gorgeous you are?" he asked, nosing at the underside of her breast. He followed that with a kiss as she carded her fingers through his hair and moaned softly.

"I've never doubted it," she said honestly, "but I don't mind hearing it said out loud again."

"You." _Kiss._ "Are." _Kiss._ "Drop." _Kiss._ "Dead." _Kiss._ "Gorgeous." He placed the next kiss on her bellybutton and she bit off a giggle from his beard tickling her skin. The she gasped as he slid two fingers into her, back arching as he curled them inside of her, lighting up every nerve she had from her head to her toes.

His name trembled on her lips and he continued painting her stomach with kisses and touches, warm swipes of his tongue and soft brushes of his nose, his fingers turning up the heat pooling inside of her with every twist and slide.

She chanted his name until she couldn't get breath anymore and then she sobbed it out. He scooted down and placed his lips on her clit, sucking on the sensitive little nub. She tumbled over the edge with a cry, fingers spasming on the cushions as her back bowed once more.

She panted and blinked, watching him crawl back up her body and cover it once more. He slid into her with a long slow stroke, then stayed there, propped on his forearms over her.

"Okay?" he asked, kissing the corner of her mouth and her jaw and her cheeks.

She hummed something affirmative, words just slightly out of her reach for a few moments more.

He laughed and kept kissing her, pulling back and then sliding in again in smooth, steady thrusts.

It was right around the time she felt her second climax inching up on her that she had a sudden thought. She dug her fingers in to get Tony to pause, but he groaned and thrust harder. He was starting to lose the rhythm anyway, and she almost let that sweep her back under, but the question persisted in her mind. With a growl of annoyance for the bad timing, she said, "Tony. Tony, stop. Wait."

He froze immediately, lifting his lead from where he'd been sucking on her collarbone and said, "What? Did I hurt you? Shit, I'm sorry, honey—"

"No. No, Tony, it's— You didn't hurt me. I'm fine. I'm more than fine, you're doing _fantastic_ , really." She clenched around him, rolling her hips, and he bit his lip on a breathy moan. "As always, I have _no_ complaints," she assured him, rising up to suck on his earlobe. He thrust again, a reflex, and she laughed.

"Well if I'm not fucking it up—" She grinned widely and he gave her a mock glare. "—then what's the problem?"

She sobered, her grin fading. "Not a problem, per se, just… a thought I had."

"Right now," he said, his voice flat. "You had a thought, right now, while I'm balls deep in you and we're both, like, _this close_ to coming. And this is business as usual?"

He sounded as offended as a wet cat and she laughed again, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant to imply. Normally, no, I would not be so capable of coherent thought, I promise."

"But tonight you are," he said. The small curl of his lips said her apology was accepted, so she arched an eyebrow.

"Don't you even pretend like you've never had some brilliant engineering related epiphany in the middle of sex. Nuh uh, that is not going to fly."

He ducked his head, appropriately chastened. "Okay, well, let's let the past lie, shall we? You had a thought?"

She bit her lip and searched his eyes, wondering if it was too late to put it aside until they'd at least finished. She shifted and that caused Tony to shift inside of her and, okay, yes, she wanted to get back to that, but, no, this couldn't wait. Apparently.

Biting back a sigh she said, "Do you think Steve just wants to date us, or does he want the whole package?"

Tony's brow furrowed. "The whole…"

She rolled her hips and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh. _Oh._ I don't… God, I don't know," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"What do you think?" he asked, "I mean, did they even _have_ a split attraction model back in the day? Wasn't it pretty, I don't know, standard across the board? The phrase 'wifely duties' comes to mind."

She hummed in agreement, annoyance piquing at his last point. She hated the phrase and the entire idea, but this was the exact reason why she'd said they needed time to talk about it.

She realized Tony was eyeing her carefully but before she had to prompt him, he said, "How would you feel if he did?"

She tilted her head and considered. Tony's warm weight still pinged her senses everywhere they touched—which was pretty much everywhere at this particular moment—and it wasn't like he was the only lover or boyfriend she'd ever had, so she did have some room for comparison.

She thought about Steve, though, those deft fingers of his that twirled pencils and pens and traced curves on paper with an undeniable skill. She thought about his hips, wide on their own merit, but narrower than his shoulders. Oh, his shoulders.

She would be the queen of denial if she hadn't ever thought about those shoulders in less than innocent circumstances. Just call her Cleopatra.

And he did have, as already observed tonight, one _hell_ of an ass. She had harbored a silent desire to test that old phrase about a bouncing quarter more than once when he'd bent over to pick something up. She hadn't yet stooped to dropping something on purpose, but she knew for a fact Tony had.

"Pepper," Tony gasped. "Pepper, honey, are you with me?"

She blinked and looked at him. "I was thinking."

He gave a strained chuckle, his head dropping to hang between his shoulders for a moment. "Oh, I know. Trust me, I do. And I can probably guess what you were thinking about. I'm going to take your response as you'd be okay with him wanting more than candlelit dinners and walks on the beach."

She frowned, then he cursed under his breath and jerked his hips and she realized not only had she lifted her legs to wrap around him, but she was actively rocking against him, riding him from the bottom as it were.

Heat coursed over her skin, down her face and over her chest and all the way to her toes and it had nothing to do with their current activities and everything to do with the cherry-red blush of embarrassment that rode the wave.

"Oh my god," she said. She buried her face against his neck. "Oh my god. Oh my _god_."

He just laughed, bright and loud, and it didn't soothe her embarrassment, but it did reassure her he wasn't offended.

He kissed her shoulder and rubbed a hand over her back. She wasn't ready to face him yet, though, her face still aflame.

"Hey," he said, then repeated it, tone gentling. "Hey, now, Pepper, come on. It's fine. I swear, it's okay. At least we're on the same page on that, right? I feel like that's important to not screwing up what we have in favor of what we might get, right?"

She breathed in and out deeply and then nodded. "Yes, it is. I just…" She made a helpless high-pitched sound and he laughed again and pressed her back down into the couch, retreating enough that he could kiss and touch her, reassuring her with every sweep of his hand and brush of his lips that it really was okay and she hadn't screwed anything up by lusting after someone else in the middle of sex with him.

She cleared her throat after a few moments, but then got caught on a moan as he lipped at her nipple. "So you, uh, you're okay with him wanting more from us?"

"Mmm," he agreed. "You know I'm bi," he said, then looked up. He bent to rest his chin on her breastbone and met her gaze. She waited him out as he weighed his words, the gears clearly turning behind his eyes. "I haven't ever had a problem, this isn't a commentary on you in anyway, understood?"

She nodded, sliding her fingers along his nape, carding the short hairs there.

He shrugged a shoulder. "There are times I miss bottoming. Or topping with a reach-around. Or bottoming from the top. Like I said, it's not a problem, if it had been, we could have worked something out, I know. And I don't regret choosing you over any of the guys I've ever slept with, I just… wouldn't mind having that in my life again. And certainly not with him in particular. If he's interested, of course."

She smiled. And because positive reinforcement was one of the best tools in her chest when it came to him, "Thank you for being honest."

He shrugged again like it was no big deal, but she saw the pleased look in his eye.

He waited all of fifteen seconds before he kissed the valley between her breasts and said, "So, was that your only thought or…?"

She laughed and used her hand on his head to pull him up to her for a kiss, then reached down with the other hand and guided him back inside where he'd slipped out of her.

"That's it. You can resume your excellent work now."

He kissed and nipped at her lips, then gave her a devilish grin. "I do have one more thought for you before we begin."

"What's that?" she asked between breaths as he thrust sharply, dragging over her g-spot and sending sparks shooting along her nerves.

"What kind of a sound do you think he makes when he comes?" he breathed into her ear.

She sucked in a breath so sharp she almost choked on it and clutched at his shoulders as she came.

* * *

 After the glow had faded enough that they could move again, they redressed, Pepper doing up Tony's pants as he tugged his shirt back over her head. He kissed her and murmured, "Nice shirt," and she smiled.

"I know."

He forewent shoes because they weren't leaving the tower and they padded to the elevator, fingers entwined, and rode it down to the common floor where JARVIS reported Steve was watching TV.

That was a generous assessment of the situation, Pepper realized as soon as she saw the bowed spine over the back of the couch. One hand was dug into his hair, massaging roughly, the other holding his phone in front of him as he read something on the screen.

She slowed her pace, Tony matching her, and they exchanged a look. His lip quirked and sympathy shone in his eyes as he nodded.

They'd left him to stew while they watched a movie and had dinner and sex and he was down here obviously beating himself up.

He snorted and scrubbed viciously over his face as he muttered something in a harsh tone she didn't quite catch. She could guess that it wasn't flattering and was directed at himself, though.

Tony inhaled, screwing up his courage, and then cleared his throat. "Hey, Steve, we, uh, wanted to talk to you." He grimaced and she gave him a sharp look.

"What he means is, we have your answer," she said, leading the way to the loveseat perpendicular to the couch he was sitting on. She sat next to Tony, a united front, but not an exclusive one, she hoped. Before she got a chance to continue, though, Steve spoke.

"I owe both of you an apology," he said, his tone that low, raw one she hadn't heard since he'd first moved in here after the debacle in DC with Bucky and SHIELD. "I… misunderstood some of the changes in the way things are done nowadays and I made assumptions and, well, I made you uncomfortable." He looked up, pain and shame fighting for dominance in his eyes. He breathed deep while she and Tony stared in surprise, and then resumed staring at the corner of the rug between them.

"This isn't an excuse by any means, but I'm still trying to get the hang of things and when I read about how some people were finding a, a different way to do things, well… I've been trying to get my head in this century and accept that things aren't the way they were."

His head shot up again, "And that's a good thing. In so many ways it's a great thing. But I guess I might have jumped the gun on a few things. It's just…" He sighed. "It's a lot harder to tell which way things stand nowadays. People didn't agree about everything back then, but they didn't seem so divided either. It's hard to tell what's right anymore," he said, sounding more than a little lost.

"Yes," Tony blurted.

Steve blinked, then raised his head. "Yes?"

"Yes, we'd like to go on a date with you," Tony clarified.

The shock knocked the sadness and embarrassment right out of Steve, his jaw dropping. "Oh," he said, collecting himself. "I… Okay. I— You don't have to say yes just because I asked. I know it's not common or accepted by a lot of people and I wouldn't want to cause you trouble with the company and all."

Pepper found her feet with that and waved it aside. "You let me worry about the company. I assure you that Tony and I engaging in a polyamorous relationship with Captain America is hardly the most scandalous thing we've had to deal with. Not that it's any of their business anyway, and we should keep a low profile as much as possible, but, really, don't even worry about that. If that was a problem, we wouldn't have said yes."

"There are going to have to be rules," Tony said, and then looked as surprised as she and Steve that those words had come out of his mouth.

"Because this is still an unorthodox relationship," Pepper picked it up, "and we don't want any confusion or hurt feelings. And, just so we're clear, this first date is just that: a first date. It's a chance to see if there's even anything between us to explore further. There are no obligations or expectations beyond the evening until we see how it goes."

"Yes," Steve agreed immediately, "of course. I, well, I did a bit of reading on the subject before I even considered approaching you and communication and honesty is key." He huffed a laugh. “Not enough obviously if I missed the part where it's not as common as I thought.”

Pepper nodded. "But you still know more than us, and your knowledge of this is something we're going to be counting on initially as we figure this out. Tony and I are aware of the concept, but, well, neither one of us has done any extensive research yet."

"We're not perfect," Tony said. He glanced at Pepper and she gave him a look of amused exasperation. "What? We're not. But we're open to the idea and as long as you understand that…" He trailed off with a shrug. "We'll just have to learn together, I suppose."

She squeezed his hand and gave him a proud nod.

Steve laughed and slumped back in the couch, the tension draining out of him in a single rush. "That's fair. I'm not perfect myself, despite what the history books and newsreels would have you believe, and, well, I'm hoping to learn a few things from you as well." His cheeks pinked and Pepper tilted her head.

"Anything in particular?" she asked.

He glanced at her, then at Tony, then stared a hole through his foot as he wiggled his toes. He ran his hands up and down his thighs and stammered, "Uh, well, for one thing—assuming you're interested of course—how exactly, uh, things work with three people. In bed, I mean." He coughed and she could see Tony's grin stretching wide out of the corner of her eye.

"I mean," he said, blush darkening, "I know it's possible, of course, and I'm not… entirely unfamiliar with the, uh, possibilities when it's two dames and a fella, or even just two fellas, but, uh…" He trailed off, looking like he'd like very much for an assembly call to sound any time now.

His eyes flicked to the ceiling, but JARVIS remained silent.

Pepper was the one who chuckled, drawing both Tony's and Steve's gazes to her. She leaned against Tony and winked at Steve. "I'm sure we can figure it out."

She thought that the high-pitched noise that escaped Steve was very encouraging.


End file.
